Thursday, October 16, 2014

A Sad Farewell!!!

I can't believe almost 6 months have passed since we started this Great Adventure!! It was finally time to say goodby to the Westerfields and head back home on my own. I'm sure going to miss these two faces, but Barbara said it was time to send me off on my own. The good news is they only live 60 miles away from my house, so I can drop in any time and we'll still have Golden Spike train rallys!! I will surely miss the geocaching adventures where we trekked across the desert on many occasions. Lots of memories from this trip!! Don't worry, Quartzsite is around the corner!!

I hated leaving Gallup, but knew if I stayed one more day, I would purchase more pawn than I needed, so I hit the road towards Flagstaff. The sky was beautiful with no wind ... perfect day for a trip!! Amazingly, I finally had the "perfect" fueling stop!! I always seem to have trouble at truck stops ... I forget the pump number, credit card won't work, can't get the tank full, cashiers don't know what credit cards they take ... but THIS time at LOVES, it went absolutely perfect!!! It's a sign!!!

The sandstone buttes were just as beautiful going home as they were going East. I see the only problem I'm going to have is just when I get home, I'll have the itch to travel again!! No one told me this would be so addicting!!

This gentlemen was kicking it down the dirt road next to the highway. I don't know what he was going to get, but he was driving so fast the trailer was coming off the ground!! It's sights like this you don't see in my neighborhood!!

Up to 6,000 feet, I climbed up to Flagstaff. Knowing they don't really care for motorhomes, I had no intention of stopping, other than at a rest stop for the puppies and lunch for me. Were I in my truck, I probably would have stopped at several of the Indian Pawn shops on the road, each one with the "best prices"!! Just before this, the wind came up and jostled me for about 50 miles!!

West of Flagstaff I saw this huge fire. Yikes ... it's right where I'm going to be in 10 miles!! I held my breath, hoping I would be going far enough past so I wasn't in it's path!!

I pulled in to the Grand Canyon Railroad RV Park in Williams Arizona, where I stayed with the Golden Spikes a couple years ago. For $34 with Passport America, I have a 50 amp full hookup paved site with plenty of puppy room. The lady at the desk said the fire was a controlled burn, so I didn't have to worry about getting up in the middle of the night to flee!! The 4:55 am train was right on time, passing a couple of hundred yards to the South of me, but that's okay ... I was already up. I think I'm still on Central Time. Kind of hard to get used to the sun not coming up until 7:00 am and going down at 5:00 pm!!! I saw on Facebook there were lots of beautiful sunsets around the country and Williams was no exception.

I'm sure there will be plenty more adventures, but like my Alaska trip, it's pretty hard to say goodbye to the Great Adventure. Instead, I'm going to look at it as the beginning of my Even More Awesome Adventures to come!!

I remember some GREAT shops here in Williams that seem to be calling my name ... and I'm pretty sure they will cost me less than Gallup!!! Stay tuned for more adventures ........

I've been reading your 2011 blog posts. Seems like you have progressed pretty well as an RVer in the last three years. Had fun in ABQ. Great pictures. No we never tell newbies how addictive RVing and traveling is. But most figure it out along the way just as you did. Have you figured out where the 2015 chapter of your Great Adventure is going to take you? Jim

Well I "think" I have improved Jim ... I'm certainly experienced at dry camping now ... and LOVE it!! Abq was the best!! I can't wait til next year ... hope to see you there, if not before!! I'm planning on heading to the Northwest in 2015, Oregon and Washington, then back to Abq!! Keep in touch!!

It was nice to meet you this summer and hope you hit the road often. I've been on the road almost 17 years and have no plans to ever get off the road. I tell my kids they'll have to take the keys from my rigamortised hands to get me off the road.

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About Me

I'm a Cowgirl, born and raised on a cattle ranch in California. I recently retired and purchased a 2012 Tiffin Phaeton RV, so I could travel around the U.S. with my two dogs, Cooper (a poodle), Jessie (a Jack Russell) and Jonathan (my parrot). I've been around the world a couple of times and not been exactly happy with my photographic images, so I took a few classes from the local Junior College. I'm happy to say I'm pleased with the results. Not every picture will make it to my blog, but one out of ten is far better than one out of five hundred. I hope you enjoy them too, along with my tales of misadventures!!